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Wildfire Awareness Week – May 2006Prepare for the upcoming fire season
Wildfire Awareness Week With (Click on thumbnail for larger photo) |
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Governor Schwarzenegger has declared that May 7-13 will be Wildfire Awareness Week. This annual outreach campaign is designed to educate residents throughout California about the upcoming Wildfire Season and what they can do to prevent wildland fires around their homes.
Wildfire Awareness Week is sponsored annually by the California Fire Safe Council, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF) and, locally, by the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council.
On a local level, SCFSC will work with San Jose Fire Department, CDF and representatives from local volunteer fire departments (such as Casa Loma and Uvas) to spread the “Defensible Space” message to residents living in the Wildland-Urban Interface areas of Santa Clara County. Last year, SCFSC volunteers assisted the California Department of Forestry and volunteer fire fighters to talk to residents at strategic roadside locations in the Santa Cruz Mountains above Morgan Hill. These roadside “meet and greets” are just one of the ways in which SCFSC reaches out to county residents.
Residents want and need to know how to make their homes Fire Safe. The new recommendation for 100 feet of Defensible Space has been confusing for many residents and Wildfire Awareness Week is an opportunity to talk to fire professionals about concerns and guidelines for your area. Children should also understand the dangers of wildfires so they know matches and firecrackers can start fires outdoors as well as indoors and SCFSC plans to increase outreach to this group.
Fire experts from the National Interagency Fire Center are expecting a particularly dangerous Wildfire Season in the Southwest; particularly in Southern California, the Southwest and the Southern Plains all the way to Florida. This is due to extremely dry conditions and the potential for thunderstorm activity in these areas. Locally, it has been another wet winter in Santa Clara County. This could mean high fire danger in our Wildland Urban Interface areas due to an above-average growth of brush, grasses and other plants – which could become hazardous fuel once the hot summer months descend upon us.
Click here for photos from a previous Wildfire Awareness Week.
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Here's how to prepare for the upcoming fire season! New San Jose Fire Department Wildland Officer By Fire Captain José Guerrero, San Jose Fire DepartmentLiving With Fire in Santa Clara County (Click on thumbnail for larger photo) |
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I recently assumed the administrative position of Wildland Program Manager for the San Jose Fire Department. Of my eighteen years with the department, fourteen years have been with San Jose Engine Company 2, one of nine Wildland Companies in the city. In those years, I have had an opportunity to respond to many vegetation fires in Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Zones. In addition I have had the opportunity to respond outside Santa Clara County, as Engine 2 is one of five strike team engines in San Jose. As I responded to the fires in local and out-of-county areas, the words “Defensible Space” were constantly in my mind.
Structure protection and fire extinguishments are our primary goals once the fire has occurred. As we prepare for this upcoming season, prevention and awareness is our goal.
March 2006 brought record rainfall to the area and vegetation growth is expected to exceed last year’s growth. As a homeowner, the following tips will assist in minimizing the fire danger around your home.
• Have a plan and practice it (without one you won't know what to do)
• Become more aware of your surroundings (think fire safety)
• Post your address so that it is clearly visible (on your house, beginning of your driveway, or both)
• Have available a ladder that can reach the roof
• Consider shutters or fire resistant drapes
• Have what we call a “Defensible Space” around your home, which means an area clear of combustibles around your home to a minimum of 100 feet
• Trim any tree branches hanging over your roof
• Space trees and shrubs at least 10 feet apart (choose plants that are fire resistant)
• For trees taller than 18 feet, prune the lower branches to at least 6 feet from the ground
• Trim any branches within 10 feet of chimney
• Make sure the chimney has a ½ inch wire mesh cover and cover all vents and openings with ¼ inch wire mesh (to prevent flying embers from entering)
• Keep roof and gutters clear of leaves and needles
• Consider a fire resistant roof when you install or replace your roof, class C or better (this alone may save your home)
• Stack woodpiles at least 30 feet away from all structures
• Locate LPG tanks at least 30 feet from all structures and give the tanks at least 10 feet of clearance
• Use ½ inch fire resistant mesh screen under porches, decks, house, and floor areas (keep weeds and grass from growing under them)
• Identify at least two exit routes from your house and neighborhood (try to travel away from the fire's path)
• If advised to evacuate, do so immediately.
Firefighters commonly use the following quick method to help determine whether a home is defendable under fire conditions when fire resources are sometimes limited. Firefighters ask themselves these questions:
C- Clearance
Does the home have
a minimum of 100 feet clearance?
Is there enough clearance to successfully defend this home?
R- Roof
Is the roof type
combustible?
Are there tree branches hanging over the roof?
A- Access
Is there safe
access for the fire engine and its personnel?
Are there tree branches impeding access to this home with our fire engine?
F- Fuel
What kind of fuel
is there around the home and how will it react under fire conditions?
Is the fuel going to burn hot and quick?
T- Topography
Is the home
located with slopes greater than 30 degree slopes?
Can firefighters safely extend hose lines around the home taking in
consideration the slope?
Will the fuel begin to pre-heat as a result of the slope around the home?
The previous are just a few questions firefighters consider when resources are limited. In the Wildland Fire Season that begins in May and lasts until approximately October, for vegetation fires within the WUI Zones, we respond with two engines and one Battalion Chief. Firefighters recognize the importance in delivering as many resources as early in the fire as possible to minimize its potential of damaging property and threatening lives.
Your local fire station has literature on these items and other issues concerning wildland areas. Please feel free to visit your fire stations to learn more about becoming fire safe. Or click here for the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council 20-page guide for homeowners, Living With Fire in Santa Clara County. It provides more detail on making a Defensible Space around your home and recommended fire resistant plants as well as other useful information. Note: This guide still has the older 30 foot minimum for Defensible Space, rather than the San Jose Fire Department recommendation for 100 feet above, but you can adapt this information for your local fire agency recommendations or requirements.
Captain José Guerrero
Wildland Officer
San Jose Fire Department
Click here for the San Jose Fire Department Web site. Read more about Captain Guerrero in the article just below.
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Looking forward to new challenges Meet Captain José Guerrero (Click
on thumbnail
for larger photos |
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SCFSC has a new member and representative from the San Jose Fire Department - and the San Jose Fire Department has a new Wildland Officer! Captain José Guerrero, who has called Fire Station 2 on Alum Rock Avenue his long-time home base, has begun a new challenge as SJFD’s Wildland Officer replacing Captain Juan Diaz, who was recently promoted to Battalion Chief. Among other duties related to the Wildland Officer position, José will be the primary SJFD representative to the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council where he will work with the CDF and other Fire Departments in the County to help coordinate their County-wide wildfire prevention and education activities.
Just three days after he finished tying up loose ends at Station 2, Captain Guerrero assumed his new position. He’ll “have a desk” at the SJFD Bureau of Field Operations on Montgomery Street, but he will no longer have a home base as he has had for the last eighteen years. Now he’s adjusting to an “8 to 5” job after all those years of firefighters’ shifts. “It was time to move on,” he says simply. According to Station 2 Battalion Chief José Luna, "Captain Guerrero has served the community at Fire Station 2 in the ranks of firefighter, fire engineer and fire captain. I have been fortunate to have him as one of my company officers for the last six years.”
This is an enormous change for 41-year old Captain Guerrero, but he says he’s looking forward to a change of pace, “something different - outside of responding to 9-1-1 calls,” he explained. He’s happy to be taking on a new role and says the position offers enhanced opportunities for promotion. José has spent his life in and around the East Foothills and as a result has a great understanding of the wildfire threat.
Interestingly, José actually started out as a computer programmer and worked at Sun Microsystems. This meant working indoors, of course, and he realized he would prefer to be working outdoors and he would like to be working in a career which would allow him to help people – because, he explains, “It feels so good!” He earned his AA degree in Fire Science at Mission College and was hired by SJFD at age 22. He’s now within hailing distance of a Bachelor of Science degree from UC Long Beach, which has been a very long-term goal.
We asked whether José, the first firefighter in his family, would want his children to follow in his path. José and his wife, Rosa, have five children ages 19, 18, 17, 16 (years) and 23 months! He says he’d be very proud if any of them (2 sons, 3 daughters) chose firefighting careers, but he knows that only they will make the decisions on their life’s work.
José is interested in his local community both on and off duty. His new position as combination staff and Wildland Officer will be a great asset to the Department (and to SCFSC) on a number of levels – and according to Battalion Chief Luna, he has demonstrated a strong wildland experience in this battalion, throughout the city and on statewide mutual aid strike team incidents. “José has a very positive and deep interaction with the Spanish-speaking community and a great sense of humor – watch out! He is energetic, enthusiastic, he strives to educate and inform, and he is a quick learner."
Click here for photos of Captain Guerrero in New Neighborhood Voice. Used with permission. Use the Back button on your Web Browser to return to the SCFSC Web site.
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Department of Homeland
Security and Bureau of Land Management Grants
Big Celebration at the March Meeting |
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In late February, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the latest round of recipients in their Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program and SCFSC could not have been more pleased and excited.
This grant will fund our work to reach out to residents (with a particular focus on children and seniors) living in the Wildland Urban Interface areas of Santa Clara County. The focus of this outreach will be to educate residents about the need to create defensible space zones around their homes and teach children about the dangers of wildfires.
“This grant could not have come at a better time,” said council president Patrick Congdon, general manager of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority. “Frankly, we’ve had an uphill battle to gain momentum and get our message out to residents living in the hills on either side of the valley. With more people moving to these areas and the build up of fire prone fuels it is just a matter of time before we have our own fire disaster. In addition, we are excited about the prospect of bringing more federal funding into Santa Clara County.”
The council will now have an opportunity to turn its attention from surviving as an organization to fulfilling its mission to educate the public, develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans and conduct Hazardous Fuel Reduction projects. SCFSC members will be out in force over the next year speaking to residents at homeowner association, service club, and other small meetings as well as some larger events such as Home and Garden shows and other community events. Council members also will be reaching out to Santa Clara County kids at community events and at area schools in attendance areas that are prone to wildfires. Click here to read more about this grant (PDF file).
Community Wildfire Protection Plan Grant Confirmed
If that wasn’t enough excitement, the California Fire Safe Council confirmed
on the same day that our grant to develop Community Wildfire Protection Plans
(CWPPs) will be funded. This grant from the US Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management, which we have been working on for several months in
anticipation of the award being confirmed, will fund our work to develop
Community Wildfire Protection Plans for the Croy Fire Area in southern Santa
Clara County and East Foothills and adjacent areas east of San Jose. Click
here for more on Community Wildfire
Protection Plans (PDF file).
This grant requires local matching funds. Pacific Gas and Electric Company and San Jose Water Company have already made significant contributions. SCFSC needs additional local contributions from organizations, companies and individuals for this work. Your contributions help us bring more Federal funds to Santa Clara County.
SCFSC Contact Information
If
you can help us with community outreach or at community events, please contact
Jan Cokely, SCFSC Executive Coordinator, at (408) 975-9591 or E-mail
JanC@SCCFireSafe.org. If you can help
with matching funds for the CWPP grant, or would like to make a tax-deductible
donation to SCFSC, please contact Jan or click on the button just below to make a Credit Card or PayPal donation to
the SCFSC.
The PayPal secure server will be used for this transaction. If you don't have a PayPal account, you can make a Credit Card donation and set up your own PayPal account at the same time.
If you prefer to write a check, please send your tax-deductible donation to:
Santa Clara County FireSafe Council
c/o Jan Cokely - Executive Coordinator
884 Buchser Way
San Jose, CA 95125
If you have any questions on making donations to SCFSC for a specific purpose, please don’t hesitate to e-mail info@SCCFireSafe.org or call Jan Cokely at (408) 975-9591.
Thank you!
Click here for photos of the big celebration at our March meeting.
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Off to Miami for Hurricane Wilma Jan Cokely in Miami
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Last year’s siege of hurricane activity through the Gulf Coast prompted many across the country to volunteer with the American Red Cross and other relief organizations. SCFSC coordinator Jan Cokely and her husband Tony were inspired to do the same.
After taking the mandatory Red Cross coursework, which included “Mass Care and Feeding” and “Shelter Operations” plus an optional Client Casework course, Jan was contacted to report for service. On October 24th, Hurricane Wilma battered Miami and Key West with wind gusts in excess of 100 mph and a six-foot storm surge. Thousands of South Floridians were displaced, power and water were knocked out, and the Red Cross had been called in to assist.
Jan’s education and background in Social Work came in handy in her role as Client Services worker. She was assigned to a Shelter Team, interviewing clients about their needs, visiting their homes to assess reported damage and providing emergency aid to help families return home and rebuild their lives.
“There was so much visible need, it was hard to know where to begin,” said Jan. “Some of our sheltered clients had moved to Miami following Hurricane Katrina and were dealt a “double whammy” when they had to leave their homes following Wilma. While Miami did not suffer the terrible flooding of New Orleans, the savage winds tore into roofs and mobile homes parks. People in economically depressed areas seemed to be the hardest hit.”
When asked if she would serve again, Jan replied, “In a heartbeat! The Red Cross experience is exhausting and exhilarating – you work long hours in frequently unpleasant conditions. But for the most part, you know that you are doing something really big to help those in need. Plus, you meet so many great people along the way. As it turned out, one of the guys on my team was a seasonal firefighter with the CDF! I felt a little less homesick when I spotted his CDF tee shirt!”
Click here for a photo of Jan with her team in Miami.
Like to write? Want to put your nifty digital camera to a really good use? Can you help us write stories and take photos for our newsletter? We want to publish more articles written by our readers. Stories should be related to our mission and of general interest to readers throughout the County, particularly those in Wildland Urban Interface areas. The mission of the Santa Clara FireSafe Council is to preserve California's natural and man-made resources by mobilizing the people of Santa Clara County to make their homes, neighborhoods and communities "Fire Safe."
Send your stories, photos and comments to Jan Cokely, E-mail.
Funding provided by National Fire Plan grants from the Bureau of Land Management through the California Fire Safe Council and by the Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program.
Our Community Outreach, Education and Youth programs and other council activities are also funded in part by grants and donations from California Water Service Co., Community Foundation Silicon Valley, Crystal Springs Landscape Company, Los Altos Garbage Company, Los Altos Hills County Fire District, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Pakpour Consulting Group, Rudolph and Sletten, San Jose Water Company, Sandis, Saratoga Rotary Charitable Foundation, S.P. McClenahan Co., West Valley Construction Co. and individual donors.
The views and conclusions on this Web site are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the California Fire Safe Council, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council or the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by the California Fire Safe Council, the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council or the U.S. Government.
